In response to the significant challenges organizations face today, many managers have put in place continuous improvement efforts to help the organization on enhance its competitive position. A key element of continuous improvement efforts is employee involvement, and one of the most complex, mature, and effective forms of employee involvement is self-managing teams. A self-managing team is a group of employees, usually eight to fifteen, which is responsible for planning, implementing, controlling, and improving work processes. There are many characteristics of self-managing teams which are discussed frequently in the literature and are common topics of seminars and workshops on SMTs, including the role of the first-line supervisor, the structure of teams, the training necessary, and the pay system for SMTs. However, one area which has not been as widely researched is the role of information - what types of information do self-managing teams need This paper addresses this question. Results from a multiple case study research project focusing on the information requirements of SMTs are presented. Specifically, seven types of information SMTs need are identified, as well as general characteristics of the information system. By information system, I mean very broadly, the system (both formal and informal) which provides information of any kind to a self-managing team. The results of this research can be thought of as design features'' for an information system to support SMTs. Practicing managers can use these design features in two ways: they can design them into beginning SMT efforts; or, for SMTs already established, managers can compare them to the existing information system and adjust accordingly.
